TIAA-CREF Overview
Facts about the company.
TIAA-CREF is a Fortune 100 financial services company that is the leading retirement system for people who work in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields. TIAA-CREF serves 3.7 million active and retired employees participating in more than 27,000 retirement plans and has over $426 billion in combined assets under management (as of 3/31/10).
Products and Services
TIAA-CREF offers a range of investment products and services to help investors achieve lifetime financial security.
- TIAA-CREF's retirement plans provide participating institutions and individuals with a range of options to help meet their retirement plan administration and savings goals as well as income and wealth protection needs. They include variable annuities, mutual funds, tax-deferred and after-tax annuities, IRAs and brokerage accounts.
- Nearly 90 percent of our mutual funds and annuities are rated 3 or more stars across all asset classes by Morningstar (as of 3/31/10). Of the 89% rated 3 or more stars by Morningstar: 63% 3 stars, 23% 4 stars and 3% 5 stars.1
- TIAA-CREF provides comprehensive, personalized advice through consultants who receive no sales commission as part of their total compensation.2 Forbes called our advice offer as “the most extensive personalized workplace advice.”3
- TIAA-CREF Asset Management serves institutional investors and intermediaries, including registered investment advisors, investment-only defined contribution platforms and broker/dealers. Investment options cover a wide spectrum of asset classes from traditional equity and fixed-income to real estate and other specialized portfolios and are offered through multiple investment vehicles.
- TIAA, the insurance company that backs TIAA Traditional and our other guaranteed products, is one of just three U.S. insurance companies to receive the highest ratings from all major rating agencies.4
- In 2009 alone, over 500,000 retirees received a combined $10 billion in income from TIAA-CREF.
- TIAA-CREF is a global leader in socially responsible investing and advocating for sound governing practices at companies in which it invests. The CREF Social Choice Account is a balanced variable annuity account with more than 430,000 investors and $9.1 billion in assets (as of 3/31/10).
In all it does, TIAA-CREF strives to uphold its historic mission: helping to meet the financial needs of the institutions and individuals we serve on the best terms practicable.
Origins of TIAA and CREF
In 1918, Andrew Carnegie and his Carnegie Foundation established Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), a fully-funded system of pensions for professors. Funding was provided by a combination of grants from the foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York, as well as ongoing contributions from participating institutions and individuals.
After World War II, in reaction to rising inflation and lengthening life expectancies, TIAA recognized the need for its participants to invest in equities in order to diversify their retirement funds. In 1952, TIAA created the College Retirement Equities Fund ("CREF") for that purpose.
Locations
TIAA-CREF has more than 7,000 employees, and is headquartered in New York City. The organization has major operations in Charlotte, North Carolina and Denver, Colorado, as well as nearly 70 local offices nationwide.
1Based on Morningstar data for share classes (not funds) that have completed one calendar year of performance. Morningstar is an independent service that rates mutual funds and variable annuities. The top 10% of accounts in an investment category receive five stars, the next 22.5% receive four stars, and the next 35% receive three stars. Morningstar proprietary ratings reflect historical risk-adjusted performance and can change every month. They are calculated from the account's three-, five-, and ten-year average annual returns in excess of 90-day Treasury bill returns with appropriate fee adjustments, and a risk factor that reflects subaccount performance below 90-day T-bill returns. The overall star ratings are Morningstar's published ratings, which are weighted averages of its three-, five-, and ten-year ratings for periods ended March 31, 2010. Current rankings may be higher or lower on a monthly basis. Past performance cannot guarantee future results.
2Our advisors receive no commissions. We compensate them through a salary plus incentive program that rewards client service as well as financial results
3“Playing the Numbers,” Forbes 2009 Retirement Guide. This claim should not be seen as an endorsement by Forbes.
4TIAA is rated A++, A.M. Best Company (as of 12/09); AAA, Fitch Ratings (as of 4/10); Aaa, Moody’s Investors Service (as of 10/09); AAA, Standard & Poor’s (as of 5/10) – the highest possible ratings from these independent analysts. These ratings do not apply to variable annuities, mutual funds, or any other product or service not fully backed by TIAA’s/TIAA-CREF Life’s claims-paying ability. Ratings are subject to change. There is no guarantee that current ratings will be maintained.
TIAA-CREF products may be subject to market and other risk factors. See the applicable product literature for details.
You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call 877 518-9161 or view a current prospectus that contains this and other information. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products. Annuity contracts and certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY.
